ParaNorman 4K review by Bobby Blakey
LAIKA has been delivering some of the best and most beautiful animated films in years including Coraline, The Boxtrolls, Kubo and the Two Strings and Missing Link. After success with Coraline they debuted their second feature, ParaNorman in 2012 starring Kodi Smit-McPhee, Tucker Albrizzi, Anna Kendrick, Casey Affleck, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Leslie Mann, Jeff Garlin, Elaine Stritch, Bernard Hill, Jodelle Ferland, Tempestt Bledsoe, Alex Borstein, and John Goodman from directors Sam Fell and Chris Butler.
ParaNorman follows a small town who comes under siege by zombies. Who can it call? Only misunderstood local boy Norman, who is able to speak with the dead. In addition to the zombies, he’ll have to take on ghosts, witches and, worst of all, grown-ups, to save his town from a centuries-old curse. But this young ghoul-whisperer bravely summons up all that makes a hero – courage and compassion – as he finds his paranormal activities pushed to their otherworldly limits.
The stranger the animation and character design the more I love it and this one is one of my favorites. It offers up a great story that is a ton of fun to
watch and hits all the marks needed to keep you invested, but the visuals elevated to something bigger and more original. I have watched this film numerous times since its released and I just love everything about it.
The visuals alone make this film worth the watch, but add to that the perfect voice casting and CGI enhancements and it is a work of art. It is just dark enough in the subject matter to keep it in the realm for the horror fans while still being something for the whole family. Unlike the brilliant Coraline it fuses all the fun and strangeness into one world on display that is outstanding to behold. Some of the characters strange looks could put something people off, but I love it.
I love this movie all on its own, but this new 4K release of it just looks amazing. It gives the film a crisper look than ever before and brings all the details of this great piece of work to the forefront in all its glory. This is one of those movies that holds up on every level to this day and revisiting it made me love it all the more.
In addition to this film on 4K for the first time ever it offers up bonus content including featurettes, commentary and so much more. Grab your copy of ParaNorman on 4K as well as a limited edition Steel book edition that features new hand drawn art from Austin, Tx-based artist Kevin Tong on December 13th from Shout Factory.
For more information or to order head over to www.shoutfactory.com
